In a peer-to-peer network, a peer can identify himself or herself by an identifier name. The identifier name allows other peers to contact the peer, and it also allows the other peers to know with whom they are communicating. However, in a large peer-to-peer network there can be multiple peers that use the same identifier name. In such cases, it can be difficult to ensure that identifier name in the peer-to-peer network is unique to the peer. Moreover, when exchanging secure information and sharing proprietary data among peers, it is important to validate with whom the peer is communicating.